After watching Citizen Kane (a movie I have already seen and appreciate) and His Girl Friday (a movie I have never seen but now love) I was struck by a similar theme in these two very different movies: the lack of journalistic integrity. These films are both amazing movies but anyone looking to find any journalistic principles in either would need to find another film. Citizen Kane is more subtle about it. In the beginning of the film we have an idealistic Charles Foster Kane taking control of a newspaper that doesn't look like it is doing very well. He gets it set up, fires some of the old employees and brings in some new ones, and writes down a Declaration of Principles for his paper: "1. I will provide the people of this city with a daily paper that will tell all the news honestly. 2. I will also provide them with a fighting and tireless champion of their rights as citizens and as human beings." This is a good start to running a newspaper, keeping yourself in check with self-made principles. but the audience knows that this won't last long. I could focus on different parts of the movie where Kane loses track of his principles but the most important one comes during his rising political career. Kane uses his control over many U.S. newspapers to build him up and put his rival down. I think it is safe to say that things he said about his rival may or may not have been true. A media magnet running for office has happened before on the world stage. Italy's prime minister owns the equivalent of all the major U.S. networks, which means he can control the flow of information. Kane's ability to sway public opinion with his newspapers would be too enticing to pass up if he was ever elected.
If Kane is considered subtle, then the lack of journalistic principles in His Girl Friday is as unsubtle as anyone can possibly get. I think the most obvious crime is the use of bribery. Main character Hildy drops some money and asks a prison guard if it was his. She did this because before she wasn't allowed in to interview a convicted criminal. She does this in full view of several other prison guards who take no notice whatsoever. If a journalist was caught bribing their way into a jail, it wouldn't be long before they were actually in jail. Bribery is just the tip of the scale in His Girl Friday. Multiple counts of slander directly to elected officials faces occur very frequently. It was so bad that when the movie released journalists of the time wanted ti taken back because of the way they were portrayed.
These are both great films but any professional journalist would be ashamed at the way they were portrayed, even if it is a comedic light.
Her's a blogger has a 'Citizen Kane Award' for newspapers that go against journalistic principles in regards to climate change.
Randy Cohen discusses ethics in His Girl Friday and reporting for the Times.
-Chris O'Connell
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